Bush, Blair Joint Press Conference at Camp David Feb. 23

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 23, 2001

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER BLAIR IN JOINT PRESS
CONFERENCE

Green Top Camp Dining Hall
Camp David, Maryland
4:45 P.M. EST

Q: Mr. President, have you received a commitment from the Prime
Minister to support your missile defense plan, including building
missile defense sites in Britain?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, do you think that there is a threat that
requires a missile defense shield and would you allow missile defense
sites to be built on your --

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Prime Minister, before we answer that, generally
when I ask for one question, we only get one question coming. Well
done. (Laughter.)

We had a long discussion about missile defense. I will, obviously, let
the Prime Minister speak for himself. I made the case, like I will do
to all the leaders with whom I meet, that we need to think differently
about the post-Cold War era, that there are new threats that face
people who love freedom.

There is the threat of an accidental launch of a missile; there are
threats of potential blackmail when one of these nations develops
weapons of mass destruction and be willing to point at America,
Britain, our allies, our friends, people with whom we've got
commitments. And we've got to deal with those in a realistic way. And
the Prime Minister asked a lot of really good questions, and he can
answer what you asked, Ron.

But we're in the process of coming up with a realistic way to deal
with the true threats. It makes a lot of sense to explore options. It
makes a lot of sense to develop defenses to face the true threats. It
also makes sense for us to send the message to the world that in the
post-Cold War era, the United States will handle its responsibilities
to keep the peace in a constructive way, by reducing our offensive
weapons, as well. And I'm now talking to the Pentagon to come up with
a level of nuclear weaponry that will help us keep the peace. As to
whether or not there will be sites or no sites, that's too early to
determine, because I have yet to propose to the Prime Minister what
will work.

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: First of all, let me say, I understand and share
the concerns of the President and the American administration about
weapons of mass destruction and nuclear proliferation. And I think
it's very important in that context that we discuss all the ways that
we can deal with this threat, which is a real threat and a present
threat, both in relation to offensive and defensive systems.

And I said to the President, and I want to repeat to you, that I
welcome very much the approach that the administration has taken,
which is to be very open about this, which is to talk to people about
it, to make sure that allies are consulted properly. These are very,
very big and important issues.

But we welcome the dialogue that there has been on it. And I think if
you look at the world today and you see those countries that are
developing weapons of mass destruction, I think it is a debate that is
right to have.

Q: Can I ask you both about missile defense? Mr. President, can I ask
you, if you fail to get agreement among your key allies, including
Britain, are you prepared then to go ahead alone with some form of
missile defense system? And if I can ask the Prime Minister, are you
prepared to say in principle now you could back an American missile
defense system?

THE PRESIDENT: John, I don't think I'm going to fail to persuade
people. I think it makes - it's common sensical to say to our
friends, let's come together, work together, to develop a defense
against the true threats of the 21st century. And so, I don't accept
your hypothesis.

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, I'm sure, for my part, that this is a
debate that is important to have, for the very reasons that the
President gave earlier. And I think if you look at the weapons of mass
destruction that people are trying to develop in nuclear
proliferation, that it's important that we look at every single way we
possibly can of dealing with this threat.

Now, as the President said a moment or two ago, we don't have a
specific proposal on the table yet. But I understand and share the
American concerns, as I've said many times before. And I think what is
important is that if we take this forward in a constructive way and
have the right discussion with allies, then we can find a way through
this. I've always believed that, incidentally, and I believe that even
more firmly having talked to the President today.

THE PRESIDENT: I'll give you a follow-up answer. I thought it
interesting that Mr. Putin talked about missile defenses. I know there
are some concerns in Europe about Russian reaction to the development
of defenses that will make the world more peaceful. And Mr. Putin has
started talking about the need for folks to develop - think about
developing systems that will intercept missiles on launch, for
example, theater-based systems that will keep the peace.

We found that to be a breakthrough of sorts, a recognition that the
Cold War has passed, that we are not Russia's enemy. I don't view
Russia as our enemy, either, and that there will be new threats that
we'll have to deal with. If we are peaceful, loving people, we must
use our technologies to appropriately deal with the threats that we'll
be facing. And I thought that was a positive breakthrough.

....

Q: Mr. President, you spoke yesterday about sending a message to China
if it is proven that the Chinese government was helping the Iraqis at
those missile sites - the air defense sites, excuse me. Mr. Prime
Minister, I'm interested in what British intelligence tells you about
any Chinese involvement, and if Chinese involvement is proven, what
specific steps are each of you prepared to take beyond just publicly
voicing your displeasure?

THE PRESIDENT: If I can answer that first, because we had a little bit
of news today. The Chinese responded to our inquiry, and you're going
to have to ask Condi Rice what specifically they said, but if I could
paraphrase, it was, if this is the case, we'll remedy the situation.
But we did get a response. As I told you yesterday, that we filed a
complaint and they responded this morning.

Q: Do you trust that they will keep their word in that regard?

THE PRESIDENT: I think you've always got to begin with trust until
proven otherwise.

The Prime Minister may want to --

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: I've got nothing to add to that, actually. I
think that's the sensible approach and it's the one we took, too.

....

Q: Mr. President, you talked about Secretary of State Powell going to
the Middle East, looking for consensus on how to handle Saddam
Hussein. We do know that there is a consensus that sanctions hurt the
people of Iraq too much and perhaps Saddam Hussein not enough. Did the
two of you discuss ways of changing the sanctions to make them tougher
on him and a little less punishing for the people of Iraq? And, if
not, how do you hope to keep the coalition together? You already have
some NATO allies, even, who are questioning the value of the
sanctions.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's the work we've got to do. First, our beef
is not with the people of Iraq; it's with Saddam Hussein. And,
secondly, any time anybody suffers in Iraq, we're concerned about it.
And I would, however, remind you that Saddam's got a lot of oil money
and it would be helpful if he would apply it to helping his people.
Having said that, to the extent the sanctions are hurting the Iraqi
people, we're going to analyze that.

Colin is really going to listen. He's going to solicit opinion from
our friends and folks in the Middle East. And prior to formulation of
any policy, we will have listened, and then I will, of course, consult
with friends and allies such as the Prime Minister here, as we develop
a policy that we hope and know will be more realistic.

The Prime Minister said something interesting, though. A change in
sanctions should not in any way, shape or form, embolden Saddam
Hussein. He has got to understand that we are going to watch him
carefully and, if we catch him developing weapons of mass destruction,
we'll take the appropriate action. And if we catch him threatening his
neighbors, we will take the appropriate action. A change in the
sanction regime that is not working should not be any kind of signal
whatsoever to him that he should cross any line of - and test our
will, because we're absolutely determined to make that part of the
world a more peaceful place by keeping this guy in check.